In his Washington Times column Victor Davis Hanson describes an Iraq that remains hidden from the American public.
I recently listened to members of the newly elected Iraqi provincial council in strife-torn Kirkuk. All were enthusiastic about their new responsibilities. They were unabashedly argumentative with one another over security, electricity and oil production -- but still confident they could govern their own affairs. As the meeting broke up, a female council member whispered, "Tell the Americans thanks, but ask them to have patience with us."
He concludes,
It was nearly impossible to remove Saddam, foster democracy in the heart of the ancient caliphate and restore in a relatively short time what took the Saddam's coterie three decades to destroy. Meanwhile, all this must be done surrounded by Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia in the midst of a larger war against Islamic fundamentalism and under global scrutiny from a largely hostile audience.
What amazes is not so much the audacity of even thinking the United States could attempt such a thing but that it may just pull it off after all -- if only we remain patient.
I've been a believer from the start. I can be patient.
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